A year has passed since the Sindang Station murder, in which a female Seoul Metro employee was killed after being stalked by her ex-colleague, but most bills proposed since to beef up protection for stalking victims remain pending in parliament. Korea's anti-stalking law was revised to punish perpetrators without the consent of stalking victims and a law to support stalking victims was enacted in the wake of the murder case last year. Despite the revision, the scope defining stalking as a c

Social Affairs Sept. 12, 2023

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family has set its budget for next year at 1.7 trillion won ($1.2 billion), marking a 9.4 percent increase from this year. However, funding for teenage sex education and initiatives to prevent the recurrence of sexual and domestic violence have been reduced. The Ministry of Economy and Finance said Sunday that the budget for programs aimed at preventing the recurrence of domestic and sexual violence, including correctional treatment programs for perpetrators

Social Affairs Sept. 10, 2023

This year's summer was unusually hot and humid, with the average summer temperature ranking the fourth-highest in South Korea's modern history, while the average quantity of rainfall ranked fifth, according to the national weather agency Thursday. The average temperature nationwide this summer was 24.7 degrees Celsius, 1 C higher than the average and the fourth-highest average temperature since 1973, when the weather observation network was expanded nationwide and started to compile re

Social Affairs Sept. 7, 2023

Women are more economically active in South Korea's workforce than ever. The employment-to-population ratio for women aged 15 to 64 here hit an all-time high of 60 percent last year. However, the wage gap between women and men is widening, data showed Wednesday, as women still earn significantly less than men on average. It is the first time that this figure entered the 60 percent range since the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family started compiling data in 1997. The percentage of women

Social Affairs Sept. 6, 2023

Seoul and Incheon were hit by an unusual "September tropical night" from late Monday to early Tuesday. It was the first such tropical night in September in 88 years, according to the weather agency, citing data. Tropical nights refer to hot evenings with the lowest temperature at over 25 degrees Celsius from 6 p.m. to 9 a.m. the following day, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration. As of 8 a.m. Tuesday, temperatures remained above 25 degrees not only in Seoul and Incheon

Social Affairs Sept. 5, 2023

Seoul Central District Court ruled on Friday that Mergeplus, the operator behind the problematic discount app, Mergepoint, must pay roughly 225 million won ($170,000) to 148 victims who had purchased unusable virtual coupons. The decision comes after a collective civil lawsuit identified the app's role in causing widespread refund chaos. The court found Kwon Nam-hee, CEO of Mergeplus Corporation, and its affiliated companies responsible for the incident but absolved six online shopping si

Social Affairs Sept. 1, 2023

A probation officer was arrested on suspicion of ignoring a drug offender's repeated offenses in exchange for bribes, the Ministry of Justice announced Friday. The ministry pledged to intensify the oversight of drug offenders and relevant personnel to prevent such incidents in the future. Seongnam Jungwon Police Station in Gyeonggi Province said Thursday that it had arrested a probation officer in his 50s who is suspected of taking 5 million won ($3,789) in return for overlooking drug use b

Social Affairs Sept. 1, 2023

As South Korea grapples with an alarming rise in drug-related crimes and an emerging online narcotics market, a ruling party lawmaker has proposed an amendment to the relevant law. Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun of the ruling People Power Party said Sunday he and 13 other lawmakers have proposed an amendment to the Act on Promotion of Information and Communication Network Utilization and Information Protection. The amendment stipulates that the Korea Communications Commission should prepare measures to pro

Social Affairs Aug. 27, 2023

Despite the rain that has fallen across the country this week, hot weather is likely to return this weekend, according to Korea's weather agency on Thursday. The rain, which began falling Wednesday, expanded across the country Thursday as the North Pacific High receded. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, the total amount of precipitation from Wednesday to Friday morning will be 50 to 100 mm in southern Gyeonggi Province, 20 to 80 mm in Seoul and remaining parts of the cap

Social Affairs Aug. 24, 2023

Only about three percent of those classified as "criminal youth" who committed any of the five major violent crimes -- murder, robbery, rape, indecent assault and special violence -- were found to have been punished under the Criminal Act, while the majority of them received mild correctional measures, the data showed Wednesday. Juvenile offenders between the ages of 14 and 18 are designated as "criminal youth." Out of 18,084 juvenile cases sent to trial for the five major vi

Social Affairs Aug. 16, 2023

The fate of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family appears uncertain, as it faces a state probe into its management of the World Scout Jamboree event, which concluded last week amid significant issues. The investigation could hold the ministry responsible for the inadequate preparation for the event, in which some participants left the campsite early, before an approaching typhoon cleared it entirely. The ministry's exposure to the debacle has already led to a revival in calls for its d

Politics Aug. 15, 2023

President Yoon Suk Yeol carried out special presidential pardons on Monday for 2,176 individuals, including 12 prominent business tycoons, ahead of the Liberation Day holiday that falls on Aug. 15, on the premise of reviving the economy. The Ministry of Justice announced the special presidential pardons for recipients including businesspersons from smaller enterprises, business tycoons, politicians, corporate executives and prisoners who committed minor offenses out of economic distress. A total

Politics Aug. 14, 2023

As the curtains fell on the 25th World Scout Jamboree on Friday in Seoul, ending with a grand K-pop concert, the controversies surrounding the event are far from over. Mired in issues including a persistent heat wave, inadequate preparation and typhoon-related disruptions, the recently concluded Jamboree is now at the center of the political blame game. While politicians argue over who holds the responsibility, efforts from companies, religious organizations and local governments across the nati

Social Affairs Aug. 13, 2023

Typhoon Khanun made landfall on the Korean Peninsula Thursday morning, bringing heavy rain and strong winds across the country, leaving a trail of damage. A 67-year-old man was found dead in a stream in Daegu at around 12:33 p.m. Thursday, according to the Daegu Fire Department. Separately, at around 1:45 p.m., a man in his 60s in an electric wheelchair in Dalseong-gun, Daegu, was swept away by the current and reported missing. Police and fire authorities deployed 100 personnel to track down the

Social Affairs Aug. 10, 2023

Fast-approaching Typhoon Khanun has thrown flights and ships into disarray on Wednesday as the national weather agency forecast a powerful storm that could become the first to traverse the entire Korean Peninsula from south to north since records began. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration on Wednesday, Typhoon Khanun had passed the sea southwest of Kyushu, Japan, and was 360 kilometers southeast of Seogwipo on Jeju Island at 9 a.m. Khanun was expected to move northward after pas

Social Affairs Aug. 9, 2023